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The Sims 2 (PC)

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The Sims allows the player to create a household for their 'Sims' and live out their everyday life of career, happiness, family. Much improved from the original, Sims 2 gives more possibilities and ultimately more fun. „

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A game that is definitely worth playing, always different every time you play!

In the box for this product you should have 4 disks, these guide you through the set up - therefore it is a little time consuming, but it's well worth the wait! While setting up there's even a short minigame to play so you don't get bored, a little samey and cheesy but a nice touch I thought.

Anyway, the basic point of this game is to set up a "family" or a small set of people. And then make them live out their lives in whichever way you see fit. In order to do this, you first have to choose your neighbourhood (from the main screen), family and house (within the neighbourhood). The nice guys at EA have already put some families into the game if you can't be bothered with creating your own, and they always have entertaining/challenging storylines. However, the create a family function is really straightforward and fun to do. You can choose their name, age, marital status, whether they have children or not, skin colour, clothes, facial appearance - pretty much everything. Then once you have created them, you can put them in a house, choose their career, start a family, marry them to some other sim, whatever you wish for them to do! This is one of the things I like about the game, total freedom to do whatever you want with your Sims!

I would definitely recommend this game! I have found it to be more fun than the Sims 3, though that may just be because it was of my first ever games! It never gets old because you can always create a new family and have them live life differently. Also there are a large number of expansion packs for this game, which actually add a lot of content and therefore make it even less likely for boredom! This is quite an old game now, but still has a lot of good features, and is very affordable compared to newer games of it's type.

However, be warned it is a pretty big game which my laptop only just manages to run. It's a lot more likely to run than the Sims 3 (if you need an alternative) which won't even start on my computer, but just make sure you check the stats between the game and your computer spec because I have had problems on older models especially when trying to use expansion packs as well!

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My favourite game EVER.

I can remember the first time I ever played The Sims so accurately that is actually scares me a little bit. That was the humble old first ever version of The Sims and I have to say it totally blew my 10 year old mind. I could literally play for hours and hours and not ever get bored, it was really the first time I had ever played something and been so invested in it.

Years down the line I was given Sims 2 as a gift by my then boyfriend. I could not wait to explore the changes and improvements they had made to the original name and was thrilled to discover a much better, more interactive and enjoyable game. I have since been given Sims 3 and I played this for a few weeks before deciding I much preferred everything about Sim 2. So like the technophobe I am I reverted right back to Sims 2 and have been playing away happily ever since.

There are about a million things to cover with this game so I'm going to outline what I view as some of the most important aspects.

- Installation - Installing Sims 2 is not all that different from installing Sims 1 is you every played that. You basically have a disc to enter into your disc drive and the computer talks you through the rest. There will be an installation code inside your case which is on the back of the manual, you need this code to install the game so make sure you don't throw it away/lose it. Everything else is pretty straight forward and it shouldn't take much longer than around 30 minutes to install the game fully. I haven't done this for years now but if my memory serves me correctly you may have to shut down your computer, though plenty of warning is given. I also really like that during the installation process they supply you with a quick and easy sims related game to play + pictures to keep you entertained.

- Loading -I pretty much have every expansion pack going and a load of internet downloads so my Sim 2 loads pretty slowly (10 minutes). The annoying this is that you cannot minimise it, let it load and continue to do other things as in my experience it either crashes or fails to load. I do think mine is probably worse than it is with just the Sims 2 because of all the add ons I own but it still isn't the quickest of games to load up.

- Graphics -What I like most abut Sims 2 is probably the graphics, and it is also what I liked least about Sims 3. If you ever played original Sims then you'll know you got a set number of faces and outfits to choose from, none of which you could modify. In the Sims 2 you are able to change every tiny little thing about your sims face, which means you can make very individual looking Sims. The difference in the graphics between original Sims and Sims 2 is drastic. I think they look much better, you have more choice in creating them the way you want them and I've found it really exciting when a Sim has a baby because you do get a mesh between the parents and not just a randomly allocated child. The graphics for the rest of the game are considerably better too, and so detailed that if you zoom in really close you can see the extra lengths they have gone to to create a very detailed and realistic game.

I have experienced a couple of incompatibility issues with Vista and the game. Apparently this is quite a common occurrence and you can download a free thing from the website to rectify the issue. I still find occasionally some slightly weird things happen with the graphics e.g entire background goes black so all I can see is the house/sim. These generally go back pretty quickly or with the move of a mouse but can be a little irritating from time to time.

- Neighbourhood -When you load up your Sims you have the choice between a couple of pre-made neighbourhoods or the option of creating your own. I much prefer to create my own neighbourhood as I like to make my Sims game as realistic as possible. You can choose a design of neighbourhood (from alpine woodland to dusty desert) and then there is the option of adding in additional characteristics (like flowers/rocks/trees etc) as well as man made things (like a hot air balloon/pylons etc). I think the options available to the gamer are really good and just add to that personalised and realistic feel which I love about the game.

- Sims -There is a dressing room which you can go to by clicking on the 'create a sim' button and this is where you make your Sim or family of Sims. You first choose things like gender/body type/age etc. and are then asked to choose a template face. You can then adjust every contour of this face and change things like hair colour and hair style too. You also have the option of adding jewellery, make up, glasses, facial hair - pretty much everything you can imagine, even including face paint. Next you get to choose outfits, which include everyday, formal, underwear, pyjamas, swimsuit and exercise clothes. I think the choices available are really great and even without any expansion packs or downloads there are loads to choose from. Last of all you choose the personality traits, much like in original Sims, by allocating points per trait. Then you choose a aspiration which is basically like a life goal. These are things like knowledge/family/money etc and this aspiration will determine the Sims wants, needs and fears. These things can be fulfilled in game play and improve the happiness and promotability of your Sim.

- Building -The physical building process doesn't differ too greatly from the original Sims though there are greater possibilities for what you can make. In this game your are able to add multiple stories on to your home which is pretty cool and a great way to maximise space. There are also an increased number of effects your can use on your home and these are all laid out in really straight forward and easy ways. You can also create community lots in your Sim neighbourhood which is really handy for making social places for your Sim to meet neighbours, or shopping centres for things like buying clothes when a child has been born. The possibilities really extend as far as your imagination does as you are supplied with all the tools you need to create as much and as little as you want.

- Playing -Personally I like to create a neighbourhood that represents a realistic demographic of society. That sounds a little insane but for me the game is all about making it as real to life as is possible. I tend to create an entire neighbourhood and give equal amounts of my time to each family. My favourite thing to do is to raise families as I really enjoy the pregnancy/birth/child raising element of this game. It differs from original Sims because these Sims actually grow up from a baby into a toddler, child, teen and then adult. I find this part of the game the most fulfilling though there are so many possible avenues to explore that it becomes a different game for everyone who plays it.

- Cheats -There are quite a variety of cheats out there to be found on the internet. These are easily found but probably the most useful in my experience are for money, setting it to your Sim's birthday, making a Sim have twins, speeding up the pregnancy or for making things disappear when something goes wrong. I don't tend to use these all that often because, as I said, I like to keep my games as realistic as possible. That said, they are useful and can add another elements to this already great game.

- Downloading -I have filled my laptop to the brim with downloads from various websites. These are easily accessible online and the majority of them are free, though beware of the ones that do charge. I mostly use them for downloading clothes and hair though you can find things like furniture and other items.

- Problems -My main problems really have been the graphics issue which though reduced by the download from the website still crops up occasionally. I also find my game crashes quite regularly so I have to be very vigilant about saving it, this is probably because I have loads of expansions and downloads but it is something to be aware of.

- Price -You can buy this game on Amazon for around £12 which is pretty good. I think since the release of the 3rd version of the Sims the price of Sims 2 has dropped a little. This is perfect for me because I actually enjoy it more than Sims 3.

- Age - I started playing the Sims games when I was around 9 or 10 but the first Sims was a slightly more simple and innocent game back then. The Sims 2 would is suggested for 7+ which seems pretty reasonable to me as most 7 year olds now are fairly computer savvy. It is also, in my opinion, a much more wholesome game than some of the other things out there (COD etc) which young children want to play. My only reservation would be that there are things that are slightly more adult (like the interactions between Sims - woohooing, if that means anything to you). I would use parental discretion and some little white lies with the younger ones.

Overall, this is a game I have grown up with and even though I'm 22 I continue to play it. It really is the only computer game I've ever played consistently and I'm not sure anything else will compare to it. I would thoroughly recommend it as a simple, imaginative game with endless possibilities.

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Many hours of my life were lost to this game.

Everybody thinks of sims as the mainstream simulation game, being played from a range of 12 year olds to 40 year olds. Aspects of the game appeals to pretty much everybody ranging from building your own home to getting abducted by aliens. Sims 1 was available for PC and PS2, making it rocket into the charts for gaming and also creating a massive sense of excitement for the release of Sims 2. I can honestly say that EA did not fail at creating another timeless classic.

Some basic computer stats

OS - Must be Windows and above 98

Processor - 800MHz

Memory - 256 MB RAM

Hard Drive - 3.5GB

Taking a look at those, you don't really need a computer stolen from NASA to run this game however that 3.5 GB of space needed to install is pretty big even nowadays.

If you were wondering, The Sims 2 is a great sequel and a great game in its own right, and I would give it to anybody to play. For the fans that have enjoyed the first game's open ended gameplay (which was all about controlling the lives of your own computer people that you got to make from scratch) It may feel that the game has become too generic and lacks the fun included in the first sims. But considering that The Sims 2 is the sequel to what is reportedly the most successful computer game ever (and that's not even counting its many expansion packs), the new game almost seems like a victim of its own success. Yeah it does introduce plenty of new features that makes the gameplay that was so popular in the original game, but it doesn't really change anything significantly to make it a brand new game. It also features plenty of options to play with, but it seems like it could've used even more content. Then again, you could simply say that EA and Maxis are making sure the game has room to grow with future updates and there's no denying that The Sims 2's additions will give dedicated fans of the series plenty of stuff to do.

I think it's sort of annoying that they decided to make so many expansions for this game rather than just including it in the orginal game. Yeah some things may not have been developed yet, But I don't believe that those expansion packs were only thought of after the game was relased. Typical EA being money hungry I guess..

I found the house building pretty easy in this game (aside from spending hours trying to work out how to actually put a roof on the house) and the open ended depth of the sim's life was great. I loved being able to start off with a sim from scratch and being able to make them the person that I wanted them to be as well as having the house that I wanted. It was pretty satisfying getting a job and saving up for a new house I must say.

Appart from the conflict with Sims 1 fans, this game is a great addition to my collection of PC games (as well as the expansion packs). Although I feel sort of robbed with the expansions, I still bought them (yes I have them all)

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Not the most amazing of games

The sims 2 is a fairly unique game. You play a more passive role, simply affecting peoples lives from a 3rd person style of view, and by making your "sims" do certain things, such as use a stove etc.

Ok, so the gameplay. There is a story mode, or a do your own thing mode. Both a pretty similar though. With these gamemodes, you can make a "sim" family, with 5 different ages (baby, child,young adult, adult, pensioner), and you can create characters with various outfits, facial features and so on.

Anyway, once you have set up your characters, you can then create family ties (daughters, wives, etc and so on). Finally you get into the gameplay. In the game each character has aspirations and fears. Fulfilling the aspirations (some are simply, for example, talk to X, make a meal etc, whereas others are mode complicated), your characters gains... well I am going to call it ego, the game calls is "social points". If a fear happens, the reverse happens, and you lose social points. To be honest, I haven't the foggiest what these social points do, they seem to have no influence on the game, but there you are.

Ok, the next thing is money. You can send your sims off to work, and use the money to pay bills and buy things. There is a huge variety of things to get, from fridges to walls, carpets to showers, its all there. With this you can build your empire!

But I always get the feeling with this game that there is not much to do. As you send your sims off to work or school, and when they come back, you have a few game hours (in reality around a few minutes) to do funny things with them... and then its back off to sleep or work again! Its just sorta of a bit boring sometimes. Also I don't like the fact that sometimes the characters do not listen to what you tell them to do (especially with the children), as they just say "i don't feel like doing that now". It ends up leaving a feeling of the game is playing out, and you can merely watch, which you end up doing in fast forward speed...

Anyway, this game is ok, its a sort of addictive game, but it really is not that good, I i rarely play it anymore, except for when I just want to laugh at my sims doing silly things (such as letting a sim into the upstairs of a house, then selling the stairs, and moving the bed downstairs, and watch them be sleep deprived, I'm a bad, bad man!), but I wouldn't say there is any solid gameplay here. Its just a sort of ok game when your feeling a bit down, just to cheer you up again.

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A truly classic game with very little faults, excellent for people of all ages, a must-play!

Recently I re-installed my Sims 2 game as often I like going back and being nostalgic, playing games from my past. Like all games in the 'Sims' series it is a life simulation game where you dictate the actions and relationships a 'sim' (person) has with those around them. You can also decorate their house, choose and advance in a career for them, as well as have children and see them through to an old age till Death comes to collect them.

The game was released in 2004 and even now I still play it. Following on from the huge success and cult following it received a number of expansion packs and 'stuff' packs where even more action and objects could be had were created and released.

The expansion packs include: University, Nightlife, Open for Business, Pets, Seasons, Bon Voyage, Free Time and Apartment Life.

The two 'modes' in the game were Buy and Build mode (with 'Live' being where you played with your sims in 'real' time).

Buy mode - add, move or delete furniture. There is a huge variety of items listed in the catalogue which is easy to navigate with things being sensibly ordered such as everything to do with the kitchen in the 'Kitchen' section (as simple as that sounds I did struggle at first getting to grips with this mode, especially learning how to position items where I wanted to and rotating them).

Build mode - to rebuild the house, add/modify and delete areas of wall and foundation, as well as cultivating and sculpting the garden such as adding shrubbery, trees or even a pool.

The game contains some social challenges that provide give you a reward if successful. By filling in a sims aspiration bar (which means you simply complete certain activities they would like you to) you are given aspiration points which can be used to buy a number of rewards such as:Money Tree - Success: When watered regularly the Money Tree when harvested will pay §40 Failure: when harvested will pay only §1.The Eclectic and Enigmatic Energizer - Success: All needs get a boost Failure: All needs drop. Cannot kill a Sim

As you can see, depending on when you use them some rewards can actually have a negative effect, and so it is important you are careful when choosing when to use them.

** Create-a-sim or CAS ** CAS is the part of 'Create a Family' where individual Sims are made. It is used to customise a Sim's appearance and personality. As a rule, only superficial changes can be made to a Sim's appearance once he or she is added to the game (and you cannot change the physical of a sim born into the game without the use of game modifications) Create a Family is also used to put Sims into families or households, as well as customise the relationships within a family or household before adding it to a neighborhood e.g. John Smith is father to James Smith etc.

In The Sims 2, Create a Family is entered by clicking the "Families" button in the lower left-hand corner of the neighborhood view, then clicking the large "Create New Family" button.

** Careers ** The base game comes with a selection of careers including:Athletic, Business, Criminal, Culinary, Law Enforcement, Medical, Military, Politics, Science, Slacker which are all pretty self explanatory.The University Career Tracks include: Artist, Natural Scientist, Paranormal, Show Business.The Pets EP simply includes the option to get careers for you pets such as a guard dog or guide dog (a good way to make a little extra cash for the household if you have this expansion pack)Seasons Career Tracks include: Adventurer, Education, Gamer, Journalism.

Each career often requires particular skills to succeed, for example the Politics career requires lots of charisma, so it is sometimes necessary to buy certain items (like a mirror for the example) to ensure this.

** Pre-made families **The pre-made families that come complimentary with the game are always lots of fun and I find it interesting delving into the family history the game makers gave them. These include: Goth family - This family is arguably the most famous of all of the pre-made families, having appeared in all three main games. Mortimer Goth (a scientist) and his wife Bella live with their young daughter Cassandra. This family serves as the main mystery of the game and gives ambiguity to 'Strangetown' (a town that comes with the base game, one of three: Pleasantview, Veronaville and Strangetown) as it is said Bella has been abducted by aliens or even people and can be seen there wandering about, having forgotten her memory.Curious family - a science loving family prone to being abducted by aliens and impregnated (the males that is!) who occupy Strangetown. Capp family - live in Veronaville, and resemble the Capulets in Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. For this reason, the youngest daughter Juliette is in a romance with an enemy family (the Montys) much like in the famous play. I enjoyed this family especially when I was younger as it was a fun way to learn names from some of Shakespeare's plays as the pre-made families in this town all had names from them, such as Puck, Tybalt, Romeo and Desdemona.Pleasant familly - appear to portray the stereotypical "perfect" upper middle class family, as they are Pleasantview's second richest family at the game's start, and accordingly try to behave as if they have few problems. However it soon becomes clear, given their relationships with each other, that the family is dysfunctional. Spector family - an eery family with lots of unusual bloodlines and weird memories should you go through the memory profile on their character in-game such as being left at the alter and that man subsequently dying young.Monty family - the rivals of the Capp family, who as discussed before are named after and supposed to resemble the Montegues of 'Romeo and Juliette'.

There are also a few others such as the Brokes and the Langerak families, whos purposes are much more concerned with creating stories for the other main families. Perhaps the best thing about these pre-made families is that when you begin to feel your imagination or creativity withering, you can simply play one of these where much of the action is set out for you already and you can either go along with it or create completely new storylines for yourself.

** Sims 2 website **The Sims 2 website is still up and running 8 years since its release and is a good way to exchange items you've made (in the amply made 'Exchange' area), visit the 'Sim Pages' of other members to see what they're up to, or discuss areas of your came in the 'Members' section where you can ask questions, chat aimlessly, or take part in competitions. Since I was a regular user, it has slowed down a little bit, but is still a useful thing worth noting, in case you ever become stuck with a particular issue in your game.

** My opinion **The Sims 2 is really when I began to love the 'Sims' series and began religiously collecting all of the expansion packs and subsequent games it had to offer. It is creative and interesting enough that it would entertain a child (the certificate age is 3+) but can also be challenging and exciting for an adult too. I am still a regular user all these years on and there are endless opportunities to be had. Of course once you have completed a certain career enough times, or played a family to death you may begin to feel a bit bored, but dont take it out on the whole series, as the EPs offer new dimensions and experiences to be had and even the Sims 3 (a prequel to this game) offers even more fun with more importance placed on social interaction over individual houses.

If anything, that is my one criticsm of this game, one which was then corrected in Sims 3, as when my computer was much less efficient it would take 30minutes or so for me to simply switch families and the aging process did not continue. However for some people, particularly if you become attached to a certain family (and believe me once you're hooked, you will!) would prefer this as it means that other sims you haven't yet tried out aren't simply falling off the face of the world, and are there ripe for the taking.

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A great game for all the family, addictive!

Ive been playing The Sims games and expansions packs since I was around 10 and have addicted ever since, the ability to recreate yourself and make a life for someone else and control it is so addictive.

After the original sims and its seven expansion packs, it felt natural to try the new Sims 2, I got it the day it was released and although my computer at the time was quite slow to run it on, I still found it incredibly fun to play. The added features on the Sims 2 mean sims can age and life full proper lives, they can get have children, get jobs, move house and even have roommates, take holidays and have a christmas!

After updating my computing system I found the graphics alot better, the game was so much faster and navigation was better. Its fair to say that you need to experience this game for yourself to understand the hype, its a fun, easy game to play, for ages 10 to 100!

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A really good game for the family, which will make you laugh.

I've been a player of "Sims" since I was 15, and started by owning the original Sims and its expansion packs (EP), so it seemed a natural transition to buy Sims 2 as well.Gameplay

The basics of Sims, even in the original, is a digital reality, in which you control Sims (simulated people) whom you have created. You can control them through the whole of their life, and therefore have a hand in their successes ...or failures. This aspect of the game was really improved in Sims 2, for starters, you can actually alter different parts of their facial structure to make them more individual, give them different hair, clothes, personalities and design the whole of the family along with them if you want to. The game also introduced 'genetics' so that if/when you allow your sims to breed, their children will have similar characteristics to their parents. When controlling your sims, there are lots of different interactions with the world and other sims; you can get them jobs, find romantic partners for them, learn new skills, although there are limits, and it can eventually begin to feel a little old. Luckily, there's another side to the game: building. Yes, you can design homes for your sims to live in, or just for the fun of it. There's a lot of options for building, for example you can create foundations for the home, or choose to build it straight onto the ground. They also provide a fair range of styles to paint, paper or board your home with.

Graphics

Sims 2 made a serious jump from the blocky pixels of Sims 1, providing gamers with smooth gradients and intimate detailing. Of course, you have to have a good enough computer to get the best quality, and older computers will definitely struggle, not only with the graphics but with the general size of the game itself, which I believe comes in, at the very least, at 2GBs for the base game. For a high spec computer, with optimized rendering off, you can even get to see the separate teeth of your sims, it is that detailed. There are some dodgy graphics though, and glitches too if you're unlucky, as house-lot graphics can be lacking, and some of the designs provided by EA/Maxis haven't got the best textures, so they seem a bit rubbish in comparison to the time they spent on the smoothness of the clothing.

In-Game Music/Speech

Sims is pretty well known for its use of "Simlish", a gobbledegook language which sims speak to each other, and even sing in. It can be very amusing to listen to, and you may find yourself really liking some of their music adaptations of our popular music! If you don't though, you can mute the game, or replace the simlish music for your own, although this increases load times considerably.

Expansion Packs/ Custom Content

Heres the best bit about Sims: the expandability! EA/Maxis produced (sadly not producing anymore since the release of Sims 3) EPs for Sims 2, covering areas which weren't included in the original, such as holidays, seasons and shopping. They also created 'Stuff' packs, which add extra non-gameplay orientated items, such as furniture. However, if you don't feel like paying anything, there's a huge community of 'Simmers' out there creating objects for Sims which EA would never make. If you want to make realistic homes and sims then this is how to: find a good Custom Content site (free ones are best, paysites tend to be a big no-no in the Sim community), download the things you want making sure they are compatible with your EPs, install them, and hey! You've got yourself a new type of roof, plant or dress! Even EA provide a forum for Custom Content creators, so if you want to stick to "safe" items I suggest visiting their site. The best thing about Custom Content is that it is entirely legal - EA/Maxis have a clause, which can be read at the back of the booklet provided with the game, which allows users to create their own items entirely legally, as long as they're free. It will add hours, days even of extra play time and enjoyment to the game.

Other Negatives

Its addictive, very very addictive. It will cause you to spend hours of your life at a computer screen. It also is more mouse orientated than keyboard so you might get an aching wrist too. And the base game is quite limited in its scope of 'reality', and misses out an awful lot of things that we take for granted in real life. But I guess that's what the expansion packs are for. I would never say that this game fulfils its actual objective - it doesn't mimic life very well. But it does provide a fantastic slightly ironic glance at life, and is awfully fun to play.

Overall I would say that Sims 2 is a brilliant game for people whom enjoy a mostly peaceful game which can be enjoyed by the whole family, albeit not as a multiplayer, and by people whom love to create or build. It was and still is, an excellent upgrade from Sims 1 and will give months of enjoyment to the right kind of gamer.

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Great game for any user/

This game is probably one of the best games ever made for the PC. I've played on this game since I was 13, now i'm 18 and still play it in my free time. It's a game that you will play none stop realise you've spent over 3 hours playing on it and still continue to play it.

The game play itself is great taking in to account the year it was made and what they intended the product to look like. The graphics of the characters are therefore not xbox360 standard because they never intended them to be.

There is so much you can do on this Sims game alone and with the expansion pack you can literally play it for days at a time. There is also lots of downloadable content from the official Sims2 website which enhances the game even more as you can personalise your characters and towns even more.

I would reccommend this game to anyone who enjoys a good game, it's a game that even people who aren't generally fans of games would enjoy as you don't have to be amazing at gaming to play and enjoy it.

I look forward to the Sims 3 however I don't think it could ever beat Sims 2 by a long shot.

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An unbeatable computer game.

Words cannot describe how addictive this game is, I believe the disk actually includes a brain washing unit, which prevents you from straying too far from the game, for fear of letting your virtual minions run amok with their newly found freedom.Creating a Sim is oddly soothing, a chance to create the perfect person - a chance to replicate yourself while erasing all minor flaws, a nicer nose, braver hair cut, etc. There are an abundance of cheats to boost your family's income, gain a promotion and generally live in the lap of luxury; however, the more honest players will honourably work their Sims to a well deserved fortune.Game-play is excellent, with high quality graphics and easy to use navigation tools to quickly ease new players into the world of virtual happiness. Sound is also well designed, with Sims speaking a language of apparent gobbledygook, and a soundtrack of easy melodies to listen to.

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Great game, very addictive

I'm a big Sims fan and though I've now moved onto the new and improved Sims 3, I still think that the Sims 2 is a great game and VERY addictive. You control up to 8 Sims in one household. You can control every aspect of each Sims life, or you can give them more autonomy and leave them to their own devices. And you can build and furnish their house or buy a ready made one. Basically, you are God, and what more could you want in a game.

The Sims, like real people, grow up, go to school, get into relationships, get married, make love (sort of, it's called a WooHoo), get jobs and retire. They have needs that need to be satisfied, and are measured by the needs bars which show you what your Sim needs i.e. Hunger, Comfort, Energy, Bladder etc.

The Sims also have desires, which you don't have to fulfil, but your Sims will be much happier if you do. And each has a lifetime desire that if you fulfil, will keep your Sim happy till it passes away.

This is a great game that will take a lot of your time, as it is a progression game so it has no real ending. But it is very enjoyable to play.

I found this version of the Sims 2 quite difficult to play with the PS2 controls. It is much easier to comtrol the view and the Sims with a mouse. This did detract from the game for me and I din't enjoy playing it so much, but perhaps I didn't allow myself enough time to get used to the controls.

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If it ain't broke, don't fix it

The first The Sims remains one of the most successful games of all time, and right so; it promoted a sense of freedom and wonder like never before, and for all of its faults, has earned its place as a milestone of the gaming medium. A sequel was only inevitable, and although it's not really necessary, it is a pretty fun game nonetheless.

What's most noticeable about The Sims 2 is how the graphics have been supremely overhauled. The game this time is in proper 3D, meaning you're able to zoom in really close and also pull out very far, capturing the very essence of what the game is all about. It is also very well textured for its time and still looks good now despite the recent release of The Sims 3. As with the original, though, the sound effects are pretty routine stuff, and we get the same standard jingles that haven't had much extra thought put into them, but then nobody plays this for the sound, so who cares?

The gameplay that made the first game so successful has been honed and fine-tuned to a T. The AI has also been noticably enhanced, so you don't get the Sims making as many conflicting requests. Also, there are a few nifty additions like a Movie Maker feature, which allowed you to capture clips and then upload them to Maxis' own server. The core gameplay remains the same, but there's just MORE of it, as well as, as you would expect, EA have held a few things back because of the deluge of expansion packs they then subsequently released.

Simply, if you loved the first game, you'll love this as long as you don't expect miracles and a major reinvention of a system that isn't broken in the first place.

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An excellent, highly addictive game

Be warned - settle yourself down for a game of Sims 2 and you'll feel like you've entered a time warp because within moments you'll be saying "How on earth can it be 3am already?!". The Sims has always been a highly addictive game and the new features added in Sims 2 only give the addiction a stronger hold! You have much more control over the physical appearance and personality traits of your Sim, with an extensive selection of outfits, skin tones, eyebrow shapes, cheekbone positions and much more to tweak! As well as retaining all the basic parts of the original Sims game - and some of the more annoying parts, such as how long it takes for your Sim to go to the toilet! - your Sim also now has goals, both short term and long term, which can be anything from earning some Simoleans to going on a hot date to going to university to having a family! You can spend more time (and Simoleans!) building, decorating and extending your house with a host of new objects. There are a number of expansion packs available to make Sims 2 even better, but the original game itself will have you tied to your computer for many happy hours - absolutely top notch gaming!

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Excellent family game

The Simple Life.

Wouldn't life be as simple as the sims get it? Your sitting at home, thinking to yourself, what would it be like to control another persons life. How would you treat them differently to how you treat yours? Give them all the wonders of the world, Or give them the definition ''I wish i was dead.''

The Sims was released in 2004, and the beginning of the overgrowing first day releases at the shops! Everybody preparing themselves for the amazing comeback from the old Sims game. Could you ever think that such an amazing virtual game COULD POSSIBLY bring a sequel.

I managed to pre-order this game online, serving at an unquestionable price of about £34.99 I think.. Very expensive in my views, It must be one heck of a good game I said to myself.Now comparing the prices to Amazon where now you can buy for about £20.

The fuss over trying to control my excitement came to an end when it finally delivered to my door. I was introduced with the Sims Box which contained four different coloured CDs you will need to install the game. Quite an annoying installing process if you ask me - But it was a huge 2GB game and thats the answers to why there are 4 CD's. You are greeted with Green, Red, Yellow and Blue CDS. If you do not have any of these CDS included in your package, then return it ASAP as you cannot continue installation without the fantastic four.

While you are waiting for the installation which is USUALLY around 30minutes-1hour APPROX installation time. So what are you going to do while your waiting, if that is what your thinking!? While installing - They offer a small simple matching game offered while you are waiting. This is a good mini game which can get time passing by - and determines which sim age life you are at. (usually im adult.)

Its 100% fantastic - Time to load the game.Greeted with the supporting organisations promoters like EA. - Then there is a mini introduction before you play, but you can skip this by a click of your mouse.

After everything has loaded, you are offered with three selection movie screens. This is where the real playing begins.

There are three different neighbourhoods, Strangeville, Veronaville and Pleasantville. I often play pleasantville just because I am the type of player who likes realistic things to happen and with veronaville and strangeville you are greeted with aliens or shakespearian characters.

Now if you have a fairly slow memory computer then the speed of the game will not be helpful to you. Loading times will be consideribly long and introductions will lag. I am very annoyed with this concept because it seems to be only very HIGH QUALITY laptops or computers can physically experience top knotch play.

There are excellent qualities about the game. The realistic characters and their speech. Building your own dream house and experiencing the working lives of sims. What i love about the game and was really excited before playing, was the screen shots where you could create a story for your sims and upload them onto the sims website. I was really quite annoyed, as this was one of the biggest highlights of the game for me. I loved having to create happy or sad plots of the families and having everyones opinions on my stories. You are only introduced to one size frame, whereas Sims 1 gave you three optional frames. This gave you flexibility whereas Sims2, its very difficult to capture an excellent moment, you have to ZOOM all the way into the sims face just to capture an expression.

The clothes you are offered to costume your sims was also a disadvantage. You dont get much variety, and when you do, its more ''silly costume clothes'' than real day-night clothes to dress them. They should offer more range.

One of the highlights of the game is the ageing from baby, toddler, child, teenager, (young adult for university add on package), adult and elderly.The normal time of your sims living spand is about 60 days. This gives you more freedom as a character and not stuck with child and adult from the old sims.

My absoloute top favourite is that you get a wide choice of how the sims may ''die''. Now this may sound horrible but some people actually enjoy making the sims lives miserable. The sims 2 now offer more ways of death including, die of elderly age, fire, drowning, food poisoning, electric shock, hit by a satelliate, eaten by a cow plant, fright, starvation, flies, gun, melting, hail, lightning, being squashed by a bed, elavator and disease. Ive only managed to do about 3 of these deaths.

Wether you enjoy giving your sims the spirit and free life of a working sim and a partying sim, making them study their socks off at university, triving a huge business or taking care of that all important pet. The sims 2 gives you absoloute diversity and enjoyment.

My person experience & Opinions.

Ive always enjoyed creating a medium sized family of 5 people. And I do make an effort on creating a small luxury house and let the family follow the rules of living under the roof. Making them eat dinner at a certain time and bed times. I enjoy the endless storylines when sims are at work and having to choose the correct one to be promoted. The fact that sims gives you the flexibility to control SOMEONE ELSES life and treat them HOW you would like to do it. Your own way!

If you love stimulation, good graphical, hours of fun games, Sims 2 is for you. But be warned, after a while, it may become very daunting and tiring and leaves you not wanting to play. I usually play every 6 months and get bored. So make sure you dont drown yourself in the game too much - or the fun will just sink.

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A fantastic game that must be tried!

The Sims 2 on the PC has to be one of my all time favourite games for the PC. The first reason why I love it as much as I do is because of its originality in terms of concept and gameplay. Having upgraded from the original Sims game I cannot tell you the difference. There is a big difference in the graphics, the controls have been tweaked, there has been a whole range of new features added.... The list goes on, as far as second games go this is just a wonderful addition to the series and it will know doubt be hugely popular in year to come. The enhanced graphics really do have a big effect on the overall gameplay because now everything is much crisper and more colourful making it far more enjoyable to play.

As I said previously despite the original idea and concept still being in place the different is just fantatsic. When building houses and just living life as a Sim everything seems to be that bit better, in every respect. The game is still expensive at £30 from Amazon, however, I really do think it is worth it and I would really recommend it. I hope this was useful and thank you very much for reading this!

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Endless fun - There is just so much to customise! You can make a family from scratch!

Sims 2 is the best selling PC game of all time, and I assure you its worth that title! With no 'goal' other than to make your sims happy (by fulfilling their wants, getting them a job, a partner, a family and maintaining a house) it revolutionised the gaming world in 2004. Heartily recommended!

The fun starts in playing a ready-made family with secrets and a backstory for you to piece together, or make a sim from scratch, chosing skintone, eye colour, personality and clothing from a wide and varied selection.Tap into your inner design guru by building and decorating a house from scratch, whatever way you want it, with whatever items your sim can afford! Strapped for cash? Get them a job and watch them rise through the ranks of fields such as Medicine, Military, and Businessperson.

Best moment: when your sim has a baby, watching it grow up, learning to walk, going to school, getting the classic teenage spots, growing up and leaving to make a family of its own.

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Product Details

As the first official sequel almost everything in The Sims 2 has been expanded and improved on from the original, but the basic idea remains the same: to create and control the lives of your virtual characters. The entire scope of the game has now increased, for example characters now age and give birth to children! Another big new feature of the game is the introduction of specific 'aspirations' for your sim, which can be anything from a specific career to marrying a particular person. Each sim also has their own 'fears', which can be anything from living alone to losing their hair. Which of these situations end up coming true becomes the main influence on whether your sim is happy, the attainment of which is the only true goal in the game.